Posted on May 1, 2019
The mouth bar will soon be history as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received the go-ahead from FEMA to dredge it, per a press release from Councilman Dave Martin’s office sent out Friday.
The decision represented the latest movement on the notorious feature, located in the San Jacinto River, that Hurricane Harvey built. This came after Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello resubmitted the permit application to USACE on March 25 and relevant parties — State of Texas, City of Houston and Lake Houston stakeholders — requested FEMA to expedite its decision to authorize a Mission Assignment to begin work.
Last week, FEMA issued a directive of Mission Assignment to the USACE, according to the press release. Both agencies are also cooperating with the City of Houston and Texas Division of Emergency Management to see how much of the deposited silt is from Harvey.
“The calculation is expected to be finalized next week, and dredging is expected to begin within 30 days,” Martin said in the press release.
The work to remove debris and restore the river’s conditions was designated as FEMA Mission Assignment DR-4332. Four affected sections were identified; the mouth bar was the fourth one and excluded from DR-4332’s scope.
Not mentioned in the press release is how much money FEMA will give to the project. The city estimated that it will cost $40 million — or possibly more.
Another dredging project of $70 million is also underway in the river near Hwy. 59.
Source: chron.com
